


Checking in

by bluebells



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Din and Cara have regular check-ins with each other, Domesticity, Fluff, Gen, Slice of Life, They totally do not gossip, post-Season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:47:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24489985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluebells/pseuds/bluebells
Summary: The baby is growing braver and louder. Din kind of misses the quiet.
Relationships: Baby Yoda & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV), Cara Dune & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 181





	Checking in

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Danudane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Danudane/gifts).



> Your dose of panacea because the world is crazy and we need refuges to recharge. Stay safe, stay hydrated. I love you all.

“So, I pointed out: no, I don’t mix business with pleasure. When I go to the healing baths, I’m not recruiting any -- are you listening?”

Din's cheeks heat and he looks from the giggling baby in his lap to Cara’s exasperated face on the Crest’s console. Her holoprojection shimmers as she cocks her head to the side, eyebrow rising in judgment. 

“Yeah,” Din insists, somewhat lamely.

The child gurgles with amusement, kicking his feet against Din’s hands holding them gently.

The kid had joined early in his call with Cara and whimpered, arms raised, standing on his tip-toes until Din reached down to scoop him up. At first, he seemed content to lie back along Din’s thighs, face turned to the ceiling, gaze wide and ears twitching as he explored the Crest’s blinking lights and shining surfaces from this curious new vantage. To Din’s disappointment, he soon tired of that and started pushing his large feet against Din’s abdomen, giggling at the _ting-ting_ of his claws on the beskar.

Din tried holding those large feet captive, but the kid was surprisingly strong.

“Hey, you’re the one who called _me_ for an update,” Cara reminds him, but she’s smirking as though she can see Din’s blush at trying to contain a child shorter than his knee. Her gaze drops to the kid raising his feet at Din, clawed toes flexing as though in a challenge. “Is he getting bigger?” Din winces as the kid lets out a mighty, ear-splitting squeal of delight. “Or just louder?”

“Braver,” Din groans, bracing his hands as the kid kicks his palms like target practice. “Not sure that’s a good thing.” The impact barely registers and the kid’s legs are short. It’s kind of funny. 

Cara hums thoughtfully. “A brave kid is confident. He must feel safe with you.”

Not deigning that with an answer, Din grunts when the kid’s surprisingly dexterous foot wraps around his thumb, tight and firm. Curious, he lifts, slow and experimental. Cara whistles, impressed when the kid hangs on until he’s dangling free upside down, blinking in wonder from Din’s helmet to the hand raising him higher. The kid coos, body curling, arms straining, but he can’t quite reach his own feet.

“Is that new?” Cara asks.

“That’s new.”

Apparently, the kid reaches the limit of his own curiousity and, unable to touch Din nor his own feet, those big eyes screw up, his mouth twists in a deep upside down pout, and his curious sounds morph into unhappy mewls.

(All right, all right.)

Din brings the kid to his chest, the grip on his thumb immediately releases, and the kid rights himself as easily as instinct, small face burrowing into Din’s gambeson above the collar of his beskar. He sighs, bracing a gloved hand beneath the kid’s bottom to prevent him from sliding down the cuirass.

“I think he’s a predator,” Cara says. Her arms cross over her chest, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. 

It’s too bad Cara can’t see the face Din pulls over the ears twitching, ticklish under his chin.

“The way he moves,” she says, as though she isn’t watching the child curl into a tiny ball in Din’s hand. “I’ve seen him hunt. He’s small now, but the right instincts are there.”

For a moment, he considers telling her about this small predator pouting at him every night until he allowed the kid to curl up against his side. A predator? This little one?

“Sure,” Din shrugs, absently patting the kid’s back to help him settle. If he falls asleep in the next five minutes, Din might actually get the chance to finish some work without him underfoot. He almost misses the days when the kid was too hesitant to do more than sit and watch him quietly. Almost. He can’t deny the warm satisfaction at witnessing the kid grow in confidence. Even at the expense of his own peace and quiet.

Some sacrifices are worth it.

“So, why does Greef want you to recruit the Twi at the healing baths?”

Cara rolls her eyes so hard, Din fears her head might roll off her shoulders. Her arms drop to her sides with heavy exasperation. “You will not believe the week we’ve had….”

And Din has never been a fan of gossip but, leaning back in the pilot’s seat with the precious bundle of warmth purring into his neck, and the person he would cautiously call his best friend recollecting the latest drama on Nevarro, he has to admit this new normal is strangely welcome. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bellsybuilds) or [Tumblr](https://bellsybuilds.tumblr.com).
> 
>  **Permissions:** You do not need to ask for permission to make translations, podfics, fanfic or fanart for any of my stories-- I do ask that you link back to my original work and let me know because I would LOVE to share what you've created.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Checking in [Podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25431715) by [blackglass](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackglass/pseuds/blackglass)




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